Kandy Sports Club beat Air Force by 34 points (5 tries, 3 conversions, 1 penalty) to 12 (2 tries, 1 conversion) in their opening ‘A’ Division inter club league rugby tournament first round match played at the Air Force ground in Ratmalana yesterday.
Kandy led by 15 points to 12 at half time.
After being contained in the first half of the game to a close margin of 15-12, the Kandy speedy three-quarters led by Sri Lanka Sevens sensation Srinath Sooriyabandara came up with a sterling display in the second half of the match to out-play their counterparts. Kandy play-maker Sooriyabandara was a source of inspiration to his entire team with his spectacular footwork and speedy runs down the ground and capped a fine performance in the match by scoring two exceptional tries.
For the Kandy team, the five tries were scored by replacement scrum half Srinath Sooriyabandara (two), hooker Damith Dissanayake (one), winger Buddhima Piyaratne (one) and centre Tharinda Ratwatte (one).
Ratwatte put over three conversions and the solitary penalty for the winners.
Air Force’s two tries were scored by centre Gayantha Iddamalgoda and hooker Parakrama Ratnayake, one apiece, while scrum half and skipper Nuwan Perera slotted in the solitary conversion.